HEALTHBEHAVIOURINSCHOOL-AGEDCHILDREN

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION COLLABORATIVE CROSS-NATIONAL SURVEY

HBSC News

News Item: HBSC Armenia: 2014 national report published

The HBSC team in Armenia have published their national findings from the 2013/14 international survey. The report, available in both Armenian and English, provides a detailed overview of the health behaviours of Armenian school-aged children.

In a first for the international HBSC study, the 2013/14 Armenian survey included responses from 17-year-olds. In total, the national survey was completed by 4813 students, aged 11, 13, 15 and 17, from 146 schools and colleges.

Findings were presented by staff from the Arabkir Medical Centre - Institute of Child and Adolescent health to: policy makers, representatives from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Police of the Republic of Armenia, healthcare providers, representatives from NGOs and international organisations.

The Armenian HBSC survey was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science, the State Committee on Science, the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Population Fund and with the support of the international HBSC research network.

The survey revealed a number of issues for young Armenian's physical and mental health, including: unhealthy diets and insufficient levels of physical activity; a worrying increase in the prevalence of smoking between the ages of 15 and 17; the highest frequency of physical fights among boys for any country participating in the international HBSC survey which gives serious cause for concern.

In more positive news the majority of Armenian adolescents revealed that they like their school. Additionally, more than 90% of Armenian adolescents are satisfied with their lives, the highest rate for any country in the HBSC network.

Analysis of the survey data allows researchers to highlight the areas of adolescent health that require most attention and further interventions to protect and promote healthy futures for the country's children.

The 2013/14 survey was carried out by the Armenian HBSC research team from Arabkir Medical Centre - Institute of Child and Adolescent Health. The first pilot for the HBSC study in Armenia was carried out with the support of UNICEF in 2005. By 2009, Armenia had become an Associate Member of the HBSC network. In 2010 the full-scale study was conducted under the support of the State Committee of Science and UNICEF; the survey covered more than 4000 schoolchildren from all regions of Armenia.